The backbone of a human body is formed of a large number of cylindrically shaped vertebrae where each vertebra is connected to the adjacent vertebra by a disc of cartilage. Hernia may be caused when the disc cartilages are slipped and compressed or injured, resulting in severe back ache and requiring chiropractic or other treatment as well as rehabilitation. To be used in such a situation, in the past, therapeutic tools are known such as health hanging tools for home use and expanding machines for hospital use. Such therapeutic tools, however, are difficult to use for a long period of time or difficult to operate for a person who has diminished physical strength, or who are in poor health or confined to bed.
For such conventional tools, an improvement has been proposed where a motor is employed therein to easily operate the tool. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 6-182000 shows a therapeutic tool for inversely hanging and suspending a human body by a winch. However, such a conventional tool is disadvantageous in that only the inverse suspension mode is available, while it is relatively large and expensive.